Paper clip



Patented Mar. 29, 1927.

UNITED STATES CHARLES W. SPONSEL, OF WETHERSFIELI), CONNECTICUT.

PAPER CLIP.

Application filed March 26, 1924. Serial No. 701,977.

This invention relates to a clip for fastening together sheets of paper and the like, and has as its aim to provide an article of this sort having various features of novelty and advantage.

More particularly, an aim of the invention is to provide a paper clip which is very simple in construction, which requires a very small amountof metal, and which may be very cheaply manufactured and sold.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clip of this sort which has a very secure grip on the sheets to which it is applied, so that the sheets cannot become unfastened and the clip will not work loose or out of place.

A further aim of the invention is to provide an improved paper clip which may be very quickly and easily slipped into place over the edges of sheets of paper or the like, thus makingit very convenient in use.

A still further object is to provide aclip which has a very neat and pleasing appearance and which is admirably adapted for advertising purposes.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail herein after.

In the accompanying drawing. wherein I have shown two embodiments which the present invention may take, it being understood that these disclosures are by way of exemplitication only and that my improved clips are susceptible of various modifications and improvements which would be within the spirit of the invention without departing from the sco e of the following claims;

Figure 1 is a face view of my improved clip. constructed of sheet metal;

Figs. 2 and 3 show the clip in the act of being applied to paper sheets;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the clip in position on sheets of paper;

Fig. 5 is a face view of my improved clip constructed of wire; and

Fig. 6 is a view showing the clip of Fig. 5 in position on sheets of paper.

In accordance with the present invention, the clip has a generally circular central portion and a pair of curved arms, the free ends of which extend beyond the free end of the central portion, there being an arcuate slot between each arm and the central portion, these slots being so cut as to provide a plurality of camming or holding edges which so grip the sheets of paper that these sheets are securely held together and accidental withdrawal of the cli is prevented.

Referring particularly to the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 to 4, a designates the central portion; 6, the arms one to each side of the central portion, and :0, a connecting port-ion or neck between the central portion and the arms. The central portion a is generally circular and the arms are parti-circular, and between the central portion and each of the arms an arcuate slot (Z. The free ends of the arms b extend below or beyond the lower end of the central portion a so as to facilitate the operation of applying the clip to the edges of a plurality of superposed sheets of paper. It will be noted that the side edges of the central portion extend laterally beyond or overlap and are midway between the ends of the arms and the ends of the slot-1:.- This will be understood clearly from Fig. 1, where it will be seen that the side edge 10 of the central portion extends laterally beyond the line 1.1-1l passing through the ends of the left hand arm, and the point 10v is equi-distant from the points 13 and 14. In the present instance, the included angle between the free ends of the arms is and the included angle of that portion of the clip between the inner ends of the slots is likewise 60". Of course, these included angles may be changed as desired as long as other essential features of the clip are retained. The outer end of the clip preferably has a straight or flat edge 12 against which a person will apply his thumb or finger when pushing the clip into final position on the papers that are to be attached together.

It will be seen that the clip shown in Figs. 1 to 4:, inclusive, may be very economically manufactured by stamping the same in one or more operations from thin sheet metal. These operations may be very expeditiously carried out, the dies required are relatively inexpensive, and the clips require but very little metal so that they may be very economically manufactured and sold in large quantities at a relatively low cost. In applying the clip, the edges of the papers to be fastened together are inserted in one of the slots (1 between the central portion and one of the arms, as shown in Fig. 2; the clip is turned about an axis lying in the plane of the papers to thereby bring the other arm to the same side of the paper as the first arm, as

shown in Fig. 8, and thenthe clip is pushed down into the final position shown in Fig. 4:. l/Vhen the clip is in final position it has, so to speak, a six point holding contact with the sheets of paper, these points of contact being indicated by the numerals 10, 10, 13, 13, and 14, 14. Each of the points of contact 10 is positioned laterally beyond the line of, and equidistant from, the contacts 13 and 14, and thus the sheets of paper are so distorted that they are securely held together. It will further be noted that there is in engagement with the sheets of paper four edges which face generally towards the edges of the paper which the clip receives. These edges, which are indicated by the numerals l5, 15, 16, 16, form shoulders against Which the sheets of paper are pressed. The clip is admirably adapted for use for advertising purposes. The name or other matter of the advertiser may be applied to the arms, as shown in Fig. 1. Also, if desired, the manufacturer or seller of the clips may have his name applied to the central portion. The portion a may have a hole 18 which serves to center the blank during the stamping operation and which also gives to the clip a bulls-eye appearance.

The clip shown in Figs 5 and 6 has the same general contour and operates in the same manner tohold the papers together as does the clip of the preceding embodiment. The clip of Fig. 5 and 6 is formed from a single length of wire, the central portion of which is bent to form a ring a", and the ends of the length of wire are bent to form the parti-circular arms 6. Between the central portion a" and the arms 6 are the arcuate slots d. The sides of the central portion extend laterally beyond the ends of the slots, and the ends of the arms extend down below the central portion. This clip also provides six points of contact and four edges facing towards the edges of the paper which is received by the clip.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. A paper clip having a central circular portion adapted to lie against one side of superposed sheets of paper, a narrow neck extending upwardly from the upper edge of the central portion, and a pair or arcuate arms carried at one end by the neck for engagement against the opposite side of said superposed sheets of paper, said arcuate arms extending downwardly from said neck in spaced relation to the opposite edges of the central circular portion and terminating at their lower ends in widely spaced apart relation to provide a space through which the sheets of paper may be introduced against the lower ends of the central circular portion.

2. A paper clip having a circular central portion with a narrow neck at its upper end, a pair of parti-circular arms one to each side of the central portion and connected to said neck and extending beyond the lower end of said central portion, and arcuate slots between said central portion and arms, said central portion having, at the upper ends of said slots, edges facing towards the outer end of the clip and said arms having, adjacent their lower ends, edges i'acing the lower end of said central portion.

CHARLES W. SPONSEL. 

